Beautiful job! I love the light/dark interplay with all the clean, modern lines. We need details on all the finishes. Is the stainless steel trivet integrated in the counter or separate?

AWESOME! Sleek, contemporary, love your hood! Can you please share details about the hood?

Cool! Complete personality change from dreary to sharp.

Fantastic!
Love it.

love it.

Double points for DIYers :)

Very clean, modern, sleek.

OH WOW! I love it!! Our cabinet order that just fell through were for very, very dark cabinets. I just love that look with a light countertop (I'd much rather be looking down on to a bright, light surface than a dark one).

Excellent job! Thanks so much for sharing your pictures.

You have done a marvelous job! I love a sleek and simple space that sings like this one. I'm sure it must reflect you well.

Thanks, all. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of work, many decisions, but so much better to cook in, now. It's like joining the 21st century! Did I mention we love the induction cooktop? Heats up fast, easy to control, and even easier to clean. We don't miss gas at all.

On the specifics:

1. The trivet is not integrated; it's from Ikea.
2. The range hood is from eBay, but seems to be exactly the same as the ones from euro-kitchen.com. The instruction manual referred to ordering parts from euro kitchen, and seemed exactly the same as the ones they have on their site, but was a few hundred bucks cheaper. Seller was "bestbuy4home". Works well so far; powerful enough for an island application.
3. Finishes:
*Countertop is Silestone MontBlanc
*Cabinets and hardware are Ikea (Nexus brown-black for lowers, Rubrik white glass for uppers and the island)
*Floor is 12x24 rectified porcelain from builddirect (Torino Akad bamboo series)
*Backsplash is 5x13 white ceramic tile (Imola ceramica cremat white)
*Paint is BM Aura crowne hill yellow--Aura is the best paint ever, btw. For us, it was worth the extra $.

Looks great. Love the Aura as well, completely worth the expense.

DIY is so impressive...it came out great!
Love the clean looking counters. Congrats!
vic

Finally, a modern kitchen. Great job!!

So clean! SO sleek! Love it!!

Love it! We're placing our order today for Ikea cabs. Tidaholm black, so it was reassuring to see another dark-finish Ikea kitchen come out well. Our original kitchen is not unlike yours. I'll keep my fingers crossed that our final kitchen also comes out as well.

Thanks for sharing.

Wow - what a dramatic change!!!! Your new kitchen is so modern and I love the mixture of the colors and your hood!

Thanks for the kind words, all.

Plansrus, we are really pleased with the look and functionality of the Ikea approach. Other than looking sharp (if you are into a modern look, of course), there's a ton of nifty pullouts, organizers, full-extension, soft-close and assorted other doohickeys that are quite useful. Quality is impressive, given the price point, and the installation method accomodates the slightly out of true nature of older walls and floors quite well.

Really a step up from our old kitchen. I'm sure yours will turn out great...great door selection.

Love, love, love it! I am near the final planning stages of a NBB and Rubrik white kitchen, so I'm especially happy to see how great it looks. One question, well, make it two:

It looks as though you used a white toe kick under the BB? I was thinking of this because my future wood floors are dark-ish, but then someone suggested it would only draw attention to an area that doesn't need attention. But yours looks great.
And, did you use IJEA under cabinet lighting with the Rubrik?

Thanks and congratulations on a beautiful kitchen.

Beautiful! I tend to find really dark cabinets oppressive, but you did a terrific job of balancing light and dark in this room.

I looked at your album--what is your under-sink pullout?

Gorgeous! I LOVE the silestone -- it's spectacular against those cool dark cabinets. Well done, that's a really spectacular transformation. The hood is tremendous too.

Wantakitchen, I think you'll be pleased with the combination. The toe-kick is standard IKEA toe-kick in the "aluminum" (coated particleboard) finish. I think it was discontinued this year, but it does look good with the appliances and the hardware. The Ikea halogen seemed too hot, and the LEDs not bright enough, so we went with xenon undercabinet lights from WAC. More expensive than the Ikea halogens, but run much cooler.

Writersblock, the pullot below the sink is a hack, combining a Rev-a-Shelf undersink slide-out shelf (U-Shaped Undersink Pull-Out Basket) with the smaller baskets of two Ikea under-sink storage units. The Rev-a-Shelf mounts to the floor of the cabinet, the Ikea units to the cabinet walls. Cut down the Ikea units to fit. Given the final sink and drainage layout, it works for our space, although with a little more time and effort, I think a better solution could have been possible, as the Rev-a-Shelf unit was overpriced:

Camargo,

Hope you're still reading because I have another question about the Rubrik cabinets: did you put a trim piece underneath to hide the lights?

TIA!

Wantakitchen, no, no trim piece. Debated it, but decided it would detract from the look and make the cabinets look lower. We did put a BB cover panel (ripped to size) on the bottom of the Rubrik cabinets, and then put the lights on there. The lights are in WAC's architectural line with a satin nickel finish that looks good (IMHO) exposed.

Make sure to post some pics of yours when done, ok? I'm sure it will look great.

Thanks so much!

Camargo,

Your DIY simple, uncluttered design looks just terrific! My DH's tastes in design have changed over the years. He would be happier with your kitchen than the one we are planning. Well, to look at it, he doesn't cook-ha!

I love induction, but the SS cooktop espresso pot I bought (thinking it would work on induction) doesn't work. The one on your cooktop is very attractive. Do you like it? Does it work well? Would you mind sharing details of make and model? Thanks!

Cotehele, the espresso maker is the Vev Vigano Kontessa. It does look good and it works on induction. That's the best I can say about it. It is almost impossible to make coffee without it spitting water from where the two pieces screw together. It does ultimately brew decent coffee, at least.

Exchanged one that was unusable for this reason, for one that started out ok, and has degenerated (now that the return period is up, of course). The gasket is fine and correctly positioned. Not a user error, as we both grew up with this type of coffee maker and have owned several...this is the worst, by far. Maybe we just got unlucky with our two examples, but we are continuing to look for another induction ready model.

I am sorry your Kontessa does not have a good seal. After trying two, it does sound like a design defect rather than a manufacturing defect. Induction technology has been available for some time, so it is odd there are not more cooktop coffee/espresso makers available. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place! Retailers say the Bialetti we have works on induction, but it doesn't, so I am cautious of the claims of other models and makers. We don't drink enough coffee/espresso to justify more expensive machines. I'll just keep looking and hoping! Good luck with yours and enjoy your lovely kitchen.

Another great design mix for IKEA cabinets.
You guys really have done a great job for that space.
It looks modern yet inviting and warm at the same time.

Absolutely beautiful. I was googling for pics of Nexus brown black bottoms with Abtrakt white uppers and found this thread. Yay!

What made you (and wantakitchen if you are still reading this thread!) choose the Rubrik white over the Abstrakt white? Are the Rubriks a "softer" white since it's a glass gloss and not a laquer/laminate gloss?

I am in love with your kitchen. I adore that combination of dark and light. Examples of sleek/spare/modern kitchens are, well, kind of hard to find on Gardenweb, so I really appreciate you showing yours.

Oh, and major props to DIYing your way to such a lovely new space. I hope you enjoy it tremendously.

Joanna

Hi Tradewind. Thanks for your kind words. We really liked the look of the aluminum trim around the Rubrik door. We also considered the Avsikt door, as we liked its wider trim even more, but the glass was too transparent. The Rubrik glass is opaque. The white is very nice, but so is the Abstrakt white. Rubrik is now available in a bunch of other cool colors as well.

I did get a sample of the Abstrakt white and liked it very much with the Nexus brown black. I'm sure it will be a great combination.

Tradewind,

I'm going with Rubrik because I don't want people to see into my cabinets (I'm neat, but still), I need something light to balance the BB and I'm a little worried about the durability of the thermafoil on the Abrstract (unless I misread the catalog and it's something else . . .) I was at IKEA yesterday and realized because the Rubrik is opaque, you can put in regular shelves, which hold more than the tempered glass. Also, the Rubrik is cheaper than the Abstract. I'm also thinking of the stainless steel panel covers for the sides of my cabinets that will be next to a window . . . any thoughts camargo? BTW, I love that tile you did for the backsplash.

The island range hood is a great piece of artwork!

I also purchased a SS Island hood off ebay, waiting for it to arrive.

That's just stunning. EXCELLENT choices and Ikea should get a set of these pics -- brilliant use of the various lines together.

I meant to ask: the bottom middle pullout in the sinkbase -- is that Ikea? I have the side pullouts, but the one that goes across the middle -- I haven't seen that there. Thanks!

camargo, did you put your pics on Ikea Fans? If not it would be such a lovely addition to the Gallery.

Camargo and wantakitchen, thanks for your thoughts on the Rubrik vs Abstrakt. I really like the Avsikt door too, but there is something about the white/black combo that just looks so sharp :-)

Joanna

Camargo,
Great kitchen and good job with the modern aesthetic.

Cotehele and Camargo,
I wanted to share a link to Fantes for a new espresso maker if you have not found one. It appears to have a list of espresso makers that are induction capable.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Fantes Espresso Makers

Hi flyleft...the bottom middle pullout is from Rev-a-Shelf, and I talk a little about it in the post with its picture. Kind of expensive, but does the job..

Thank you, homepro01 for the link regarding the espresso makers. We'll give it a shot.

tradewind, not on Ikeafans yet, but that's on the agenda. They also helped a lot, and reviewed the layout.

Thanks again, all, for the kind words.

Thanks, Homepro01. Mine is the #9860 10-Cup Bialetti Eleganza Class Espresso Maker. I bought it thinking it would work on induction, but it does not hold a magnet. So, be cautious of the claims on this website.

Wonderful Kitchen reno!
We too are going with high contrast of dark cabinets & almost white granite. Seeing yours has given me a boost of confidence in my choices. It is exactly the effect i want.

And on an added note, I am awe of you going DIY!

Jazzed, can you post some pics/name of your granite? While the quartz made more sense for us in this kitchen, we may be looking for a remnant of light granite for a bathroom (next project) and didn't really see too many when we looked for the kitchen.

BTW, we went DIY out of necessity more than anything...don't want to imagine what a cotractor would have run us here in New England!

Haven't been on the board for a while and came across your post. What a gorgeous kitchen! It is stunning! I absolutely love it. Congrats on a job well done. It is great.

Sorry Camargo, I just checked back to this thread and read your request.
I'll be happy to post a photo when I make my final choice. I know I want a light, mostly white granite and have 2 more fabricators to visit next week.
I'll try to take some photos of the different ones at the and will post them too.

Congratulations! I am new here, but I've already learned so much from this forum. It's great to hear and see all of the experiences.

Your kitchen is quite an accomplishment. I'm hoping my kitchen adventure (I have a 15-yr. old oak kitchen) will turn out as well as yours. I want to turn this old, sorry, beat-up kitchen with formica counter tops into a timeless, cozy, warm, California French piece of beauty with all of the latest technology out there :-).

May I archive your photos and details in the Finished Kitchens Blog?
If so please submit the FKB Category Checklist; it will help me categorize your kitchen details.
And feel free to add any other details you would like to have included.

Thank you!

Here is a link that might be useful: FKB Category Checklist

What a fantastic kitchen! I love how clean the induction cooktop looks, and overall how sleek your kitchen is. The countertops are luminous. Congrats on a beautiful job. Can't believe it's DIY!

I am so inspired. I own the home I grew up in, and it has it's original kitchen. It looks very similar to your before. I've been thinking for sometime about redoing it, it's a rental. Now that I've seen your pictures, I realize how much can be done. What a difference! Kudos to you.

Starpooh, yes, of course! Submitted the form. Don't come around here all that much anymore, but happy to report that the kitchen continues to function beautifully. The induction cooktop is really something else--have primarily had gas in the past, and from a functional and cleanup perspective, the induction wins out, at least for us. Thanks again for the kind words, all.